May 6

“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name…” Psalms 29:2

This is a wonderful exhortation to all who believe and know the Lord. We are encouraged to render to God the glory of His name. This means to give to the Lord the worship and praise appropriate to Him because of Who He is, fitting to the perfection of His nature and proportionate to the mightiness of His works! This exercise of glorifying God on its own will doubtlessly be conducted and continued into eternity. The infinite God has infinite aspects to the glory associated and revealed by His name. His signature is in every aspect of His creation. He has revealed His name in all dealings with mankind. He has proven Himself higher and greater than any god or deity, which man has chosen to recognise. His name is integral to the salvation He has provided and by which He answers the sin problem of lost humanity. Every aspect of our lives, survival and existence is touched by the power and glory of the Almighty. All over the world, millions continue to call on His Holy name to receive blessing and favour, protection and direction. Each one of these areas and a host more would keep us busy giving glory and praise to Yahwah for a long time to come! Sadly, the many that do recognise and give Him His rightful praise, are but few when compared to the throngs more who do not, and are wilfully antagonistic, or otherwise ignorant of Him and the glory that is due to His name. Humanity is overall given and more concerned with the accolade and recognition which they desire for themselves, or willingly give to fellow humans on every level of achievement or ‘success’. Yet the rendering of honour and glory to God, which is most obvious of all, most appropriate of all and most necessary of all, is withheld from the Lord, and rather redirected elsewhere. The rest of creation faithfully sings God His praises, but humanity fails miserably to even acknowledge Him. The faithful to God will nevertheless, continue to be spurred on by biblical reminders and give Yahwah, the glory which is rightly His! The only limitation we have in this task of glorifying the infinite Lord, is our present finite-ness. It restricts us from seeing the full picture of all Lord is and has done, and confines the scope of what we do understand and perceive. This too our God will soon take care of, when He will change our mortal and corruptible bodies into eternal and immortal ones! Then with one accord, with everlasting thankfulness we will share His eternal life, fulfil the purpose for which He created us. With full hearts and complete understanding we will sing His praises around the heavenly throne, and give Him the glory due unto His name!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Apr 6

“…David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD…” 1 Chronicles 16:7

God had blessed Israel, and David was not going to let any opportunity pass, without giving thanks to the Lord his God! The occasion was the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and it was met with great rejoicing by king David and the people. The celebration included all the people receiving food and drink from the king, and the instigation of a worship service, in which talented musicians would play the instruments, and singers would sing praises to Yahwah. To be sung for the first time at this special event, David wrote and handed to Asaph the chief musician, a psalm of praise and thanks to the Lord. How good it is to be thankful to God! We do not find it difficult to call and cry to God, in our distressing times and times of sorrow and trial. It is just as necessary for us to find the motivation and heart to give thanks to God, for all the manifold blessings He endows us with. On special occasions, we might more easily remember what He does, Who He is and what He means to us, and may even express some special praise, and voice a heartfelt prayer. I am sure the occasion before us was not the only time David’s psalm was sung! Every day and in so many ways, God does wonderful things in our lives, and it is appropriate and desirable to be ready with praise and appreciation from a thankful heart. Looking for daily opportunities to be grateful to the Lord, is a good an wholesome practice, for it helps us to see the Divine blessing in the usual daily things of life, which we may be tempted to take for granted! Someone said it is easy to appreciate something when you don’t have it anymore! If we stop for a moment and think how frustrating when the ‘usual’ doesn’t happen or work as it usually does! It is then we become aware of it, and realise what place it fills in our daily life. Being thankful to the Lord, is a strength for the child of God, and a godly testimony to those who, lacking of relationship with the Lord, are discontent and find it difficult to be grateful for anything much at all in life!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion